My 6 year old son has been sent to the Principal's office three times this week. The first time was for dropping the f-bomb in the cafeteria (thank you second-grader for teaching him that little word I have spent the past six years avoiding in lieu of this moment). The second day he was sent home for bitch-slapping his friend during lunch time. ("I don't know what happened Mom, I just couldn't control my hand!"). The third day he was waving around a fork or some other boisterous movement that was mistaken for rough-housing and was called out yet again. That did it for me, on the fourth day, we stayed home.
So I spent yesterday having school at home with Nathan (and Sofie) and I am surprised to say that it was quite enjoyable. We covered all the basics, reading, writing, math, and then moved on to more interesting terrain like a nature walk gym class, carving pumpkins for art class, and Spanish games for the better part of the afternoon.
I am embarrassed to admit how little I actually have a day home with both of my kids and no agenda. I work every weekend so the only time I have with Nathan is in the afternoons or when we are on vacation. Setting aside all household responsibilities and focusing solely on their learning was both fun and grounding for all three of us. I don't know that I could go the full Monty with home schooling (5 days a week could get old for all of us pretty fast), but I am wondering why I don't have this as our routine maybe once a week, or once a month. What a brilliant concept, take a day off and teach your kids yourself.
I don't know what will come of this revelation, or how Monday will go for Nathan back in the classroom, but it certainly has me thinking about the way our current system works, or doesn't work, for us.
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